This years In-House Tournament:March 19 - 23, 2018

2017 In-House Tournament wrap-up

It looks like we have finally wrapped up the Tilt in the Tumbleweeds -- the 8th Annual SCF In House Tournament -- and I want to thank all of you who played in the Tournament, and also the huge number of people who made the Tournament fun and successful.

It took months of preparation and many people to make it a fun Tournament for the SCF Pickleball Clubs members who participated.

First, we must all thank the many volunteers who showed to assist in all the events. You made the Tournament a great experience for all the people who participated:

Brian Tracy and Calvin Nixon made registration on two websites pretty easy for players by making sure all your data was entered into the “pickleballtournaments.com” website correctly. Brian, Calvin and Bill Baptista, our treasurer, made sure all payments from players were recorded correctly. Brian and Dee Davison created the brackets for three days of play, and our volunteers at the event desk recorded scores.

Thanks to the court crew who showed up early and cleaned the courts, set the nets, hung the flags, set up the tables and chairs, and a myriad of other duties. Organized by Ed Anthony, the courts were ready for play each day -- even when it rained most of the night before the Blind Draw. Thanks for your dedication, Ed and crew!

There were lots of Referees this year. Some people were not able to referee as much as they wanted because there were so many people who wanted to help. There were also some new people who stepped up to learn the skills. Neal Johnson, Larry and Laurel Branen had them well schooled to do their jobs. Neal organized the Referees and worked constantly with the event desk to make sure the courts were filled as soon as possible.

Suzie Fisher organized the raffle and made sure the table was well staffed to sell tickets and to coax people who attended to select the prizes they wanted. And what wonderful prizes many of our community members made! Congratulations to those who won these special items, and thanks to Suzie and her hard-working team.

We had plenty of fresh oranges and snacks to munch on throughout all four days. You can thank Gina Henkel who headed up the Food/Snacks table. Her volunteers made sure the snacks were fresh and quickly replenished. They also made sure there was plenty of water and Gatorade -- especially on these first two really hot days.

What would any tournament be without Vendors and Sponsors? Karen Wick was responsible for recruiting them, which contributed not only dollars but shopping for the Tournament. We all loved Jersey Jim and his special chicken sandwich. Nice job, Karen!

All of you who volunteered to help with the Tournament know Lindsay Danielson. She organized the jobs you did, which helped make our annual Tournament a wonderful success.

Jones Wong has also worked on the Tournament for several years. He acted as a great advisor, and filled many jobs during the four days of play.

The Blind Draw was an event where lots of laughter brought us all together on day four. You can thank Dave Pike and Ernie Jerome for that day – they spent many hours thinking of ways to make the Blind Draw more fun this year resulting in a good time for everyone involved.

Have you seen the photos Marty Massari and his team took of the Tournament? If not they are on our club website. The photographers took some amazing shots, sorted them and put them together with music to help us relive the four days of the Tournament. And I understand there are a lot more photos for you to enjoy. Keep checking.

And finally, a huge thank you to Linette Barnes, who at many odd hours of the night and morning, put information on our club website so all of you could access information about the tournament.

As you can see, it takes a lot of people and a lot of time to make a tournament happen. I am so proud of how everyone worked together for this common goal. Thanks to all of you who gave your time, creativity and power to make our four-day Tournament a time we will all remember.

Now that this is all behind us, and for many days and weeks we can continue to reminisce, I want to remind you that 2018 Club Tournament will come around quickly. It is never too early to think about where you can volunteer for 2018. Many of our seasoned volunteers have dedicated their time several years in a row, and they are ready “to pass the baton,” and step down to advisory capacity only. I was able to witness a lot of talent and good energy during the tournament -- something that will certainly benefit us next year when we begin to organize the 2018 SCF In-House Tournament.